I r 

Jfeberal  Council  of  tlje  ^ 
Cfiurcfjesi  of  Clitisft  m America 


PROF.  SHAILER  MATHEWS,  President 
REV.  CHARLES  S.  MACFARLAND,  Secretary 

NATIONAL  OFFICE 

612  United  Charities  Building,  105  East  22d  St.,  New  York 


il^eport  of  Special 
Committee  of 
Sinbesftisatton 


Appointed  by  the 
Commission  on  the 
Church  and  Social 
Service  of  the  Federal 
Council  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ 
in  America 

Comerning  tfje  Snbujitrial 
Situation  at  ^outf) 
Jietfjlcfjem,  ^a. 


This  report  was  received  and  unanimously  adopted  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Commission  on  the  Church  and  Social 
Service  held  in  New  York  oh  June  14th,  1910 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/reportofspecialOOfede 


Report  of  Special  Committee 

Appointed  by  the  Commission  on  the 
Church  and  Social  Service  of  the  Fed- 
eral Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ 
in  America 

CONCERNING  THE  INDUSTRIAL 
SITUATION  AT  SOUTH  BETHLEHEM,  PA. 

When,  on  February  4,  1910,  three  machinists 
in  the  Bethlehem  Steel  Works  were  discharged 
for  daring  to  protest  in  behalf  of  their  fel- 
lows against  Sunday  labor,  thus  precipitating 
one  of  the  most  notable  strikes  in  this  coun- 
try, they  not  only  raised  issues  which  concern 
the  9,000  men  employed  in  the  steel  works, 
but  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  American 
public  certain  industrial  problems  which  can- 
not be  settled  by  capital  and  labor  alone.  The 
American  people  must  assume  a distinct  share 
in  the  responsibility  of  their  solution. 

RELATION  OF  ORGANIZED  LABOR  TO 
THE  STRIKE.  ' 

Organized  labor  had  nothing  to  do  with  in- 
augurating the  strike.  As  a matter  of  fact, 
when  the  strike  began  none  of  the  employees 
of  the  Bethlehem  Steel  Works  were  members 
of  any  labor  organization.  The  Amalgamated 
Association  of  Iron,  Steel  and  Tin  Workers, 
to  which  most  of  the  men  would  naturally  be- 
long, had  been  systematically  forced  out  of 
the  works  since  the  strike  of  1883.  At  no  time 
did  the  labor  union  appear  in  the  demands 
made  upon  the  Steel  Company,  and  the  recog- 
nition of  the  union  was  not  asked  for  in  any 
of  the  demands  of  the  men.  It  was  not  until 
some  time  after  the  strike  had  been  inaugu- 
rated that  organizers  of  the  American  Federa- 
tion of  Labor  were  called  into  town  by  some 

3 


of  the  men  on  strike.  As  a result  of  their 
activities  during  the  period  of  enforced  Idle- 
ness, practically  every  trade  is  now  organized, 
although,  as  it  is  one  of  the  avowed  principles 
of  the  Steel  Company  to  discourage  the  or- 
ganization of  its  employees,  it  is  probably  only 
a question  of  a short  time  when  these  organiza- 
tions will  lapse. 

STRIKERS’  DEMANDS. 

While  the  strike  originated  in  a demand  for 
freedom  from  Sunday  labor,  other  questions 
arose  for  discussion  in  the  strikers’  meetings, 
until  the  grievances  definitely  shaped  them- 
selves into  three  concrete  demands: 

First,  the  abolition  of  unnecessary  Sunday 
work. 

Second,  increased  wages. 

Third,  a shorter  work  day. 

In  the  matter  of  overtime  and  Sunday-work, 
time  and  a half  was  demanded  for  such  labor. 
Other  requests  having  to  do  with  the  indus- 
trial operations  were  introduced  in  these  de- 
mands, but  all  of  them  bore  upon  the  lighten- 
ing of  what  was  considered  a heavier  burden 
than  the  average  workingman  could  endure. 

It  is  true  that  the  President  of  the  company 
came  to  the  strikers’  meetings,  asking  them  to 
return  to  their  work  and  declaring  that  their 
grievances  would  be  considered;  but,  feeling 
that  this  was  not  sufficient  assurance  of  fair 
treatment  by  the  company,  the  men  preferred 
to  remain  out  on  strike,  having  their  executive 
committee  conduct  all  negotiations  looking  to- 
ward a settlement.  Whether  or  not  the  men 
were  in  error  at  this  point,  only  those  having 
an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  situation  can 
judge;  but  no  doubt  the  discharge  of  the 
three  leaders  who  made  the  original  request 
for  release  from  what  was  considered  an  op- 
pressive situation  made  the  men  suspicious 
that  those  who  presented  their  cause  would 
suffer  through  discharge  or  in  some  ether  way 

4 


because  of  their  prominence  in  championing 
the  strikers’  side  of  the  controversy.  In  one  of 
the  original  petitions  sent  to  the  company  for 
the  adjustment  of  the  strike  diflB.culty  the  men 
signed  their  names  in  a circle  so  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  tell  which  was  the  leader. 

CONFLICTING  ELEMENTS  IN  ADJUST- 
MENT OF  STRIKE. 

Another  matter  which  made  the  strike  dif- 
ficult of  adjustment  was  the  presence  of  large 
numbers  of  foreigners.  Probably  50  per  cent, 
of  the  9,000  men  employed  in  the  miUs  were 
foreign-speaking  people.  There  were  also  other 
divisions  among  the  workers — social,  economic, 
religious  and  geographical — -which  made  the 
strike  most  difficult  to  handle.  South  Bethle- 
hem is  situated  in  a community  of  about  40,- 
000  people,  consisting  of  the  boroughs  of  Beth- 
lehem, South  Bethlehem,  North  Bethlehem, 
Fountain  Hill  and  Northampton  Heights, 
while  some  of  the  workers  come  from  a terri- 
tory beyond  this  district. 

The  men  had  been  so  long  deprived  of  the 
right  of  organization  and  of  representation 
that  when  once  they  felt  the  pov(er  of  a united 
movement  they  were  slow  to  accept  any  prop- 
osition which  denied  them  this  privilege. 

DAILY  HOURS  OF  LABOR. 

It  appears  from  the  Report  on  the  Bethle- 
hem Strike  made  by  the  United  States  Bureau 
of  Labor  that  4,725 — or  51  per  cent,  of  all 
the  employees — had,  in  January,  1910,  before 
the  strike,  a 12-hour  work  day;  220  workmen 
had  a 12-hour  day  except  on  Saturday,  when 
their  hours  were  either  10  or  11;  4,203  em- 
ployees had  a work  day  of  10  5-12  to  11  hours 
in  length  generally,  with  a half  day  off  on 
Saturday,  and  47  worked  on  other  schedules, 
unspecified. 

These  were  the  regular  schedules,  but  those 
who  had  less  than  12  hours  were  often  called 


5 


upon  to  work  overtime.  The  10-hour  men  fre- 
quently worked  several  hours  additional  at 
the  end  of  the  regular  period,  or  on  Saturday 
afternoons  or  Sundays. 

This  means  that  while  51  per  cent,  of  the 
workmen  had  a 12-hour  day,  the  tendency  in 
other  departments  was  to  approach  that 
schedule  on  account  of  overtime.  Bad  as  such 
a schedule  of  hours  must  necessarily  be  under 
any  circumstances,  the  situation  in  certain  de- 
partments has  been  intensified  by  a system  of 
speeding  up  that  kept  the  men  working  at  high 
pressure.  A time  bonus  system  has  enabled 
a man  to  win  a 20  per  cent,  bonus  if  he  fin- 
ished a job  in  standard  time.  There  is  said  to 
have  been  no  penalization  for  failure  to  do 
this  and  no  employee  has  been  paid  less  than 
his  guaranteed  daily  rate;  but  these  rates 
have  apparently  been  fixed  at  points  where  it 
has  been  necessary  for  a man  to  earn  the 
bonus  in  order  to  bring  his  earnings  up  to 
wages  prevailing  elsewhere  for  similar  work. 
If  he  could  cut  down  the  standard  time,  he 
received  in  addition  50  per  cent,  of  his  hourly 
rate  for  the  time  saved.  The  normal  speed 
rate  developed  under  this  system  has  made 
overtime  work  especially  obnoxious.  Apart 
from  this,  it  is  alleged  that  foremen  received 
large  additional  bonuses  for  large  outputs, 
and  that  this  led  some  of  them  to  drive  the 
men  in  their  departments,  hoping  to  beat  the 
estimated  output  and  win  a share  of  the  money 
saved. 

SEVEN-DAY  WEEK. 

Beyond,  and  intensifying,  the  evils  of  a 12- 
hour  day  is  the  existence  in  many  departments 
of  a 7-day  week.  The  United  States  Labor 
Bureau  showed  28  per  cent,  of  all  employees 
working  regularly  seven  days  in  the  week;  in 
addition  were  those  who  worked  on  Sundays 
irregularly  as  overtime.  The  total  number 
working  on  seven  days  in  a week,  both  regu- 

6 


larly  and  as  overtime,  in  January,  was  4,041, 
or  43  per  cent. 

With  respect  to  both  the  12-hour  day  and 
the  7-day  week,  the  Bethlehem  custom  is  very 
similar  to  that  in  the  Pittsburgh  mills.  The 
proportion  of  regular  12-hour  workmen  is  con- 
siderably greater  among  the  employees  of  the 
steel  companies  in  Pittsburgh,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  plants  there  are  steel  rolling 
mills  exclusively,  where  the  work  is  continuous. 
At  Bethlehem  there  are  very  large  machine 
shops,  where  the  work  is  not  necessarily  con- 
tinuous. The  machinists  were  the  regular  10- 
hour  men  at  Bethlehem. 

As  to  Sunday  work,  however,  the  Bethlehem 
situation  is  worse  than  that  found  in  the  Pitts- 
burgh steel  mills  in  1907-8  by  the  Pittsburgh 
Survey.  There  20  per  cent,  were  estimated  as 
7-day  workmen,  but  in  Bethlehem  the  percent- 
age runs  from  28  to  43. 

It  was  claimed  by  the  manager  of  the  Beth- 
lehem plant  that  practically  only  necessary 
work  has  been  done  on  Sunday;  that  in  Jan- 
uary the  excess  of  Sunday  work  over  absolute 
necessity  was  about  2 per  cent.  But  it  ap- 
pears from  the  Labor  Bureau  Report  that 
rolling  mills  and  open  hearth  furnaces  were 
operated  on  seven  days  in  every  week  in  Jan- 
uary in  Bethlehem.  In  Pittsburgh  in  1907-8 
there  was  a full  24-hour  stop  for  rolling  mills 
each  Sunday,  and  open  hearth  furnaces  were 
not  operated  from  Saturday  night  until  Sun- 
day morning,  and  then  a full  crew  was  not 
needed  until  Sunday  noon  or  later. 

But  in  Bethlehem  these  departments  called 
out  practically  their  full  crews  in  January 
seven  days  and  seven  nights  a week.  Nothing 
in  the  company’s  statements  or  payrolls,  as  fur- 
nished the  Bureau  of  Labor,  showed  that  there 
was  any  shutdown  or  let  up  for  12  or  24  hours 
by  the  men  in  these  departments.  It  is  gen- 
erally conceded  that  for  technical  reasons  blast 
furnaces  cannot  be  shut  dawn  on  Sunday,  but 

7 


rolling  mills  and  open  hearth  furnaces  can  be 
and  generally  are  shut  down. 

It  has  been  claimed  by  the  management  that 
Sunday  and  overtime  work  is,  in  some  depart- 
ments at  least,  optional  with  the  men.  This 
is  denied  by  the  workmen,  and  it  is  obvious 
that  in  a great  corporation,  where  there  cannot 
be  the  close  personal  touch  between  manage- 
ment and  men,  details  are  in  the  hands  of  fore- 
men. With  the  necessity  upon  these  foremen 
of  getting  the  output  desired  by  their  superiors 
and  the  lure  of  a bonus  before  them,  they  can 
hardly  be  expected  to  leave  the  matter  of  over- 
time entirely  optional.  That  it  is  not  so  left, 
and  that  men  are  either  discriminated  against 
or  discharged  if  they  refuse  to  work  overtime 
or  on  Sundays,  is  commonly  known  in  Bethle- 
hem. As  already  pointed  out,  it  was  a case  of 
this  kind  that  precipitated  the  strike. 

At  Bethlehem,  as  in  Pittsburgh  and  through- 
out the  country,  the  blast  furnaces  are  oper- 
ated continuously  seven  days  and  seven  nights 
a week.  Adjustment  of  the  working  schedule 
which  would  allow  every  man  on  such  crews 
one  day  off  a week  was  recently  advocated  by 
W.  B.  Dickson,  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States  Steel  Corporation,  at  a meeting  of  the 
Iron  and  Steel  Institute  in  New  York,  and, 
according  to  the  newspaper  reports,  was  sup- 
ported by  other  practical  steel  men,  Mr. 
Schwab  among  them. 

At  present,  every  time  the  day  and  night 
shift  turn  about,  these  7-day  workers  are  re- 
quired to  put  in  a long  turn  of  24  consecutive 
hours  of  labor. 

WAGES. 

In  January,  21  men  out  of  the  9,184  em- 
ployed earned  60  cents  or  more  per  hour.  This 
would  be  $7.20  or  more  for  a 12-hour  day. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  61  per  cent,  earned 
less  than  18  cents  an  hour,  or  $2.16  for  a 12- 
hour  day,  and  31.9  per  cent,  earned  less  than 
14  cents  an  hour,  or  less  than  $1.68  for  a 12- 

8 


hour  day.  This  is  a wage  scale  that  leaves  no 
option  to  the  common  laborers  but  the  board- 
ing boss  method  of  living,  with  many  men  to 
the  room.  When  a man  has  a family  with  him 
they  take  in  lodgers  or  often  the  woman  goes 
to  work.  It  is  reported  that  immigrant  pa- 
rents send  their  little  children  back  to  the  old 
country  to  be  reared  while  the  mother  goes 
to  work.  On  such  a wage  basis,  American 
standards  are  impossible.  The  January  pay- 
roll at  Bethlehem  showed,  according  to  the 
Bureau  of  Labor,  large  numbers  of  laborers 
working  for  12%  cents  an  hour,  12  hours  a 
day,  seven  days  a week. 

These  wage  figures  do  not  compare  favor- 
ably with  the  wages  paid  by  the  United  States 
Steel  Corporation  in  Pittsburgh,  where  the 
rate  for  common  laborers — the  lowest  rate 
paid  to  any  workman,  prior  to  the  recent  ad- 
vance— was  16%  cents  an  hour.  It  is  now 
17%  cents.  Jones  & Laughlin,  the  largest  in- 
dependent Pittsburgh  miU,  paid  15  cents  in 
1907-8.  There  has  been  a raise  at  Bethlehem 
since  January,  and  common  labor  now  gets 
13%  cents  an  hour.  AU  of  this  miU  labor  is 
paid  lower  than  the  rate  for  day  labor  in  the 
bituminous  mines  of  Pennsylvania,  where  the 
unions  enter  into  collective  bargains  with  their 
employers,  and  common  labor  benefits  along 
with  the  skilled  men.  None  of  this  common 
labor  in  any  of  these  steel  mills  is  paid  a 
living  wage  for  an  average-sized  family. 

ACCIDENTS. 

There  were  927  injuries  in  the  Bethlehem 
plant  in  1909,  of  which  754  involved  the  loss  of 
more  than  one  week’s  time;  38  of  these  lost 
bodily  members,  and  six  lost  an  arm  or  leg. 
Twenty-one  lost  their  lives.  There  is  a benefit 
association,  composed  of  employees  of  the 
plant,  who  pay  dues  into  its  treasury.  The 
company  duplicates  whatever  the  men  pay  in. 
This  association  pays  $5  a week  sick  or  acci- 

9 


dent  benefit,  and  $100  to  the  family  of  a de- 
ceased member,  or  $50  in  case  of  the  death  of 
the  wife  of  a member.  The  company  does  not 
require  the  signature  of  a release  when  these 
payments  are  made.  Accordingly  its  legal  lia- 
bility remains.  But  the  only  stated  and  regu- 
lar compensation  which  a workman  is  sure  of 
for  his  family  in  case  of  a catastrophe  is 
through  the  benefit  association.  So  large  a 
corporation  might  well  adopt  a regular  com- 
pensation policy  as  the  United  States  Steel 
Corporation  and  the  International  Harvester 
Company  have  already  done,  and  as  provided 
for  by  laws  passed  this  winter  by  the  New 
York  State  Legislature. 

RELATION  OF  THE  CHURCH  TO  THE 
STRIKE. 

Whatever  may  be  true  of  other  industrial 
reforms  it  is  reasonable  to  expect  that  efforts 
on  the  part  of  labor  to  secure  Sunday  rest 
will  enlist  the  active  co-operation  of  ministers 
and  churches.  The  statement,  therefore,  given 
wide  publicity  in  the  labor  press  that  during 
the  recent  strike  at  South  Bethlehem  such  an 
effort  by  the  strikers  failed  to  receive  the  aid 
of  churches  and  their  pastors  is  calculated  to 
increase  any  existing  hostility  toward  the 
churches  wWch  may  be  felt  by  workingmen 
and  to  widen  the  breach  between  them. 

The  statement  referred  to  was  made  by 
Jacob  Tazelaar,  General  Organizer  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor.  His  charges 
may  be  reduced  to  three: 

1.  That  “the  Church,  nearly  as  a whole,  the 
Protestant  as  well  as  the  Catholic  Church, 
gave  no  aid  to  the  men  who  were  fighting  for 
a great  moral  issue.” 

2.  That  “it  is  publicly  known  here  (in  the 
Bethlehems)  that  the  Church  can  collect  its 
fees  and  dues  through  the  corporation’s  ofBce. 
It  is  stated  here  by  the  workers  that  the  com- 
pany has  taken  money  out  of  the  pay  en- 

10 


velopes  of  the  laboring  men  without  their  con- 
sent and  paid  same  over  to  the  clergy,  and 
that  there  is  a standing  offer  to  all  the  minis- 
ters by  the  Bethlehem  Steel  Company  to  have 
the  Church  dues  collected  through  the  com- 
pany’s office.” 

3.  That  “the  Protestant  Ministerial  Associa- 
tion, as  a body,  practically  championed  the 
cause  of  the  corporation.” 

CONFERENCE  WITH  THE  MINISTERS. 

The  Committee  of  the  Commission  on  the 
Church  and  Social  Service  had  a conferencr 
with  representatives  of  the  Protestant  Minis- 
terial Association  of  the  Bethlehems,  also  an 
interview  with  Mr.  Tazelaar,  and  then  brought 
him  and  the  Ministerial  Association  together 
for  another  long  interview. 

1.  In  his  published  charge  that  “the  Church, 
nearly  as  a whole,  gave  no  aid  to  the  men  who 
were  fighting  for  a great  moral  issue,”  Mr. 
Tazelaar  referred  to  the  ministers  as  “sup- 
posed apostles  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  are  un- 
willing to  defend  the  laws  of  God,”  making 
evident  reference  to  the  Fourth  Command- 
ment. 

At  the  conference  referred  to  above,  at 
which  nearly  every  minister  in  the  Bethlehems 
was  present,  it  was  shown  that  the  ministers 
had  taken  a lively  interest  in  the  subject  of 
Sabbath  observance.  Several  years  before  they 
had  held  a mass  meeting  in  the  Opera  House 
to  protest  against  Sabbath  desecration,  and 
since  then  they  had  frequently  preached  on 
the  subject,  some  twice  and  some  four  times 
a year.  It  was  stated  that  they  had  repeatedly 
appealed  to  the  officials  of  the  steel  works  in 
the  interest  of  Sunday  rest,  which  statement 
was  confirmed  to  the  Committee  by  the  general 
manager.  The  Ministerial  Association  also  had 
devoted  two  meetings  to  the  discussion  of  the 
subject. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  the  churches,  as 

11 


such,  took  any  action  relative  to  the  strike, 
but  the  Committee  representing  the  ministers 
declared  that  “the  Ministerial  Association  at 
various  times  gave  the  most  earnest  consid- 
eration to  the  strike,  and  appointed  a Commit- 
tee with  a view  to  conciliation.  They  were  in- 
structed to  study  carefully  the  situation  and, 
if  the  occasion  oifered,  to  exert  their  influence 
as  far  as  possible  for  the  adjustment  of  ex- 
isting difiSculties.  The  fact  that  such  a Com- 
mittee had  been  appointed  was  not  published 
at  the  time,  lest  the  object  of  their  work  be 
thereby  thwarted.” 

We  are  told  that  “serious  and  persistent 
efforts  were  made  by  this  Committee  to  find 
some  ground  of  agreement  between  the  Steel 
Company  and  the  strikers.”  To  this  end  an 
interview  was  had  with  the  President  of  the 
company,  and  a number  of  the  strikers’  meet- 
ings were  attended.  Several  conferences  were 
also  held  with  the  union  leaders,  and  “all  the 
grave  difficulties  in  the  way  of  reconciliation 
were  investigated.”  The  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee was  in  conference  with  Mr.  Tazelaar, 
and  “several  important  points  were  being 
agreed  on  in  a very  friendly  discussion,  as  a 
basis  for  the  men  to  return  to  work  (viz.:  1. 
reduction  of  Sunday  labor;  2.  definite  increase 
in  the  rate  for  day  laborers;  3.  special  con- 
sideration for  all  the  workmen,  in  view  of  the 
current  high  prices)  when  one  of  the  leaders 
of  the  strike  entered  the  room  and  cut  off  the 
discussion  by  saying  ‘no  proposition  will  be 
here  considered  until  the  Cossacks  (the  State 
constabulary)  are  dismissed  from  this  town,’ 
which  abruptly  ended  the  conference.” 

These  facts  would  seem  to  dispose  of  the 
first  charge. 

2.  In  regard  to  the  second  charge  of  Mr. 
Tazelaar,  that  church  dues  were  collected  by 
the  corporation,  it  was  stated  in  the  joint  con- 
ference that  the  Roman  Catholic  priests  had 
employed  the  method  of  church  collection  re- 

13 


ferred  to,  but  never  without  the  consent  of 
the  workmen,  and  that  the  Steel  Company  had 
paid  the  money  to  the  priests  only  on  the 
order  of  the  Roman  Catholic  members.  A 
Protestant  pastor  who  had  organized  among 
the  workmen  a congregation  of  200  foreigners 
stated  that  his  men  had  proposed  the  method 
to  the  Steel  Company  as  an  accommodation  to 
themselves,  and  that  the  company  on  request 
had  consented  to  it,  but  he  had  never  availed 
himself  of  the  opportunity,  and  added:  “The 
proposition  never  came  from  the  Steel  Com- 
pany in  any  way,  shape  or  manner.”  The 
other  twenty  pastors  present  all  arose  in  af- 
firmation that  they  had  never  used  such  a 
method.  Mr.  Tazelaar  declared  that  he  could 
prove  his  charge,  but  refused  to  do  so  on  the 
groxmd  that  he  “would  not  be  the  means  of 
having  workmen  blacklisted.” 

The  facts  brought  out  serve  to  account  for 
the  origin  of  the  charge,  but  there  was  not 
the  slightest  evidence  that,  as  applied  to  the 
Protestant  ministers,  it  contained  a trace  of 
truth. 

3.  It  was  charged  that  “the  Protestant 
Ministerial  Association,  as  a body,  practically 
championed  the  cause  of  the  corporation,”  and 
it  was  hinted  that  this  might  have  been  in 
return  for  the  collection  of  church  dues  by 
the  company.  This  insinuation  has  already 
been  disposed  of.  The  supposition  that  finan- 
cial considerations  may  have  influenced  the 
pastors  to  favor  the  corporation  is  rendered 
untenable  by  the  fact  elicited  that  the  churches 
are  far  more  dependent  for  their  support  on 
the  workmen  than  on  the  oflBcials  of  the  Steel 
Company. 

THE  ATTITUDE  OF  THE  BETHLEHEM 
MINISTERS. 

It  must  be  said,  however,  that  the  tone  of 
the  statement  made  by  the  Committee  of  the 
Ministerial  Association,  which  appeared  in  the 
South  Bethlehem  Olobe  for  April  20th,  af- 
13 


fords  some  warrant  for  the  belief  of  the 
strikers  that  the  ministers  inclined  to  favor 
the  corporation.  The  Committee  administer  a 
sharp  rebuke  to  the  strikers  for  “using  any 
means,  whether  fair  or  foul,  to  embarrass  and 
cripple  the  Steel  Company,”  but  we  find  no 
corresponding  censure  of  the  officials  of  the 
Steel  Works  for  compelling  unnecessary  and 
increasing  Sunday  work  through  a period  of 
years.  If,  as  the  Committee  state,  “only  the 
officials  of  the  company  can  accomplish  the 
righting  of  any  existing  wrongs,”  then  evi- 
dently those  officials  are  responsible  for  the 
continuance  of  such  wrongs.  And  yet  there  is 
not  a word  in  the  statement  to  bring  this  truth 
home  to  the  conscience  of  said  officials. 

The  Committee  put  to  the  strikers  the  ques- 
tion: “Is  it  reasonable  to  expect  that  by  at- 
tacking your  employer  openly  and  in  secret, 
by  trying  to  destroy  his  property  and  his  busi- 
ness, you  can  best  persuade  him  to  deal  gen- 
erously and  magnanimously  with  you?”  But 
we  find  no  equally  pertinent  question  ad- 
dressed to  Mr.  Schwab  and  his  associates, 
such  as  the  following:  “If  it  has  been  your 
policy  in  the  past,  as  you  claim,  to  reduce 
Sunday  labor  to  a minimum,  and  yet  there 
has  existed  notwithstanding  ‘an  undue  amount 
of  Sunday  work,’  what  guarantee  do  you  offer 
that  under  the  same  policy  in  the  future  there 
may  not  exist  a like  ‘undue  amount  of  Sunday 
work’  ?” 

There  is  evidence  that  the  ministers  were 
sincerely  desirous  to  serve  the  best  interests 
of  the  workmen,  including  the  strikers,  but  the 
question  addressed  to  them,  and  quoted  above, 
is  proof  positive  that  they  are  too  far  aloof 
from  the  workingman  to  understand  him  and 
win  his  confidence.  Nothing  could  be  more 
exasperating  to  the  workingman  than  to  as- 
sume that  he  desires  to  persuade  his  employer 
“to  deal  generously  and  magnanimously”  with 
him.  What  he  desires  and  demands  is  not 


14 


generosity  and  magnanimity  at  the  hands  of 
his  employer,  but  simple  justice.  Not  until 
ministers  get  close  enough  to  the  workingman 
to  gain  his  point  of  view  can  they  hope  to 
influence  him  to  any  extent.  We  deem  it  the 
duty  of  ministers  not  simply  to  record  a for- 
mal protest  against  industrial  evils,  which  may 
serve  to  pacify  a partially  awakened  con- 
science, but  to  arouse  a righteous  indignation 
on  the  part  of  the  Church  and  of  the  general 
public  which  will  make  the  continuance  of  such 
ills  impossible. 

SUGGESTED  RECOMMENDATIONS 
BY  THE  INVESTIGATING  COMMITTEE 

TO  THE  FEDERAL  COUNCIL  AND 
TO  THE  PUBLIC 

1.  A 12-hour  day  and  a 7-day  week  are  alike 
a disgrace  to  civilization.  There  is  a way  of 
avoiding  each,  but  they  will  not  be  avoided 
until  society  requires  the  backward  members 
of  the  community  to  conform  to  the  standards 
recognized  by  decent  men.  The  continuous  in- 
dustries— ^those  necessarily  operating  on  seven 
days  a week — are  numerous  enough  to  require 
special  regulation.  They  include  to-day;  rail- 
roads, street  cars,  telegraph  and  telephone 
lines,  heat,  light  and  power  plants,  newspaper 
ofiBces,  blast  furnaces,  hotels  and  restaurants 
and  other  industries.  There  should  be  laws 
requiring  three  shifts  in  all  industries  operat- 
ing 24  hours  a day,  and  there  should  be  laws 
requiring  one  day  of  rest  in  seven  for  all 
workmen  in  7-day  industries.  Add  one-seventh 
to  the  force  and  each  could  have  a day  of  rest 
while  the  industry  goes  on.  The  New  York 
State  Department  of  Labor  is  about  to  pub- 
lish a monograph  on  the  general  subject  of 
Sunday  legislation  which  throws  much  light  on 
this  point.  The  churches  could  do  no  more  for 
the  cause  of  human  betterment  than  by  work- 
ing for  sucb  laws.  They  could  well  initiate  a 
movement  for  6-day  legislation  comparable 

15 


with  the  old  Sunday  observance  movement, 
which  resulted  in  the  placing  of  Sunday  laws 
on  the  statute  books  of  most  States.  Many  of 
these  laws  prohibited  all  w'ork  except  that  of 
necessity  and  charity.  With  the  development 
of  industries  and  public  service  many  work 
operations  have  become  continuous,  and  the 
tendency  has  been  to  spread  to  other  occupa- 
tions; so  much  so  that  the  Sunday  laws  in 
most  States  are  in  many  respects  dead  letters. 
These  Sunday  laws  are  sustained  by  the  courts 
up  to  the  Federal  Supreme  Court,  not  on  the 
ground  of  religious  observance,  but  on  the 
ground  that  unremitting  toil  debases  man. 
Therefore  the  courts  could  be  expected  to  sus- 
tain by  similar  reasoning  6-day  legislation,  pro- 
viding that  when  an  industrial  operation  is 
necessarily  continuous  each  man  shall  have 
one  free  day.  Massachusetts  and  California 
already  have  such  laws. 

2.  That  the  churches  inaugurate  a move- 
ment to  place  in  the  hands  of  the  courts,  or 
some  similar  appropriate  body,  the  authority 
to  determine  when  industrial  operations  are 
necessarily  continuous,  and  must  necessarily 
be  performed  on  Sunday.  As  it  is  now,  the 
decision  is  in  the  hands  of  managers  who  are 
pressed  for  haste  by  purchasers,  for  output 
by  their  directors  and  for  profits  by  their 
stockholders,  so  that  it  is  unfair  to  put  the 
responsibility  for  drawing  a line  between  what 
is  necessary  and  what  is  unnecessary  upon  the 
shoulders  of  the  managers.  Those  industrial 
operations  which  would  be  declared  by  such  a 
tribunal  to  be  unnecessary  on  Sunday  would 
thus  fall  within  the  scope  of  the  old  Sunday 
laws;  those  declared  to  be  necessary  would 
fall  within  the  scope  of  the  proposed  6-day 
legislation. 

3.  That  directly  growing  out  of  the  Bethle- 
hem situation  the  Federal  Government  be 
urged  to  include  in  its  specifications  for  armor 
plate,  war  vessels,  construction  work  and  the 

16 


like,  that  the  work  be  done  on  a 6-day  basis, 
and  that  where  operations  are  necessarily  con- 
tinuous the  24  hours  be  divided  into  three 
shifts  of  eight  instead  of  two  of  12.  In  let- 
ting its  contracts  for  the  great  aqueducts  now 
under  construction  New  York  City  has  pro- 
vided that,  along  with  certain  specifications  as 
to  tensile  strength  of  steel,  grade  of  cement, 
etc.,  the  contractor  in  these  outlying  camps 
shall  provide  adequate  water,  sewage  and  shel- 
ter for  his  construction  gang.  This  has  been 
occasioned  by  the  presence  in  some  camps, 
which  are  temporary  and  peopled  with  tran- 
sients, of  conditions  so  unsanitary  as  to 
threaten  the  districts  with  epidemics.  It  would 
seem  similarly  that  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment could  provide  for  certain  minimum 
labor  conditions  in  its  contracts,  as  well  as 
minimum  specifications  as  to  materials.  As 
it  is  now,  the  progressive  employer  who  wants 
to  be  fair  to  his  men  must  compete  for  con- 
tracts at  levels  set  by  the  least  scrupulous. 
The  tendency,  therefore,  is  toward  a lowering 
of  standards,  which  the  churches  of  America 
ought  to  be  courageous  enough  to  stand  out 
against.  The  Governmentx  is  rich  enough  to 
pay  for  vessels  constructed  under  the  best 
sanitary  and  economic  conditions. 

4.  That  the  various  churches  making  up  the 
Federal  Council  be  urged  to  set  aside  a day 
at  their  conferences,  assemblies  and  conven- 
tions for  the  discussion  of  industrial  condi- 
tions and  the  relation  of  the  Church  to  the 
same;  especially  in  line  with  the  action  of  the 
Council  in  declaring  against  the  12-hour  day, 
the  7-day  week  and  for  a living  wage.  Appro- 
priate sources  of  information  could  be  sug- 
gested in  this  connection,  such  as  the  Bethle- 
hem Report  of  the  Federal  Government  and 
the  report  to  be  issued  by  the  New  York 
State  Department  of  Labor  on  “Sunday  and 
7-day  Legislation.” 

5.  That  the  attention  of  the  churches  in  all 

IT 


parts  of  the  country  be  called  to  the  existence 
of  the  continuous  processes  in  such  industries 
as  iron  and  steel,  paper,  railroads,  street  rail- 
ways, telephone,  telegraph,  mines,  smelters  and 
glass.  That  ministers  be  urged  to  visit  the 
works  and  public  service  corporations  of  their 
localities  and  learn  to  what  extent  employees 
are  obliged  to  work  on  seven  days  in  the  week. 

6.  That  the  Federal  Bureau  of  Labor,  the 
Russell  Sage  Foundation,  or  some  other  prop- 
erly constituted  body,  be  urged  to  take  up  an 
adequate  study  of  the  cost  of  living  and  wages 
in  our  dilferent  industrial  districts,  such  as 
will  Inform  the  churches  as  to  what  is  a living 
wage: 

a.  One  on  which  the  immigrant  laborer  can 
safely  undertake  the  responsibilities  of  home- 
making in  each  district  without  jeopardizing 
the  health  of  his  family  and  children. 

h.  The  minimum  upon  which  an  ordinary 
American  household  may  be  maintained  as  a 
permanent  proposition  so  as  to  provide  not 
only  for  physical  necessities,  but  for  the  edu- 
cation of  the  children,  and  for  a fair  degree 
of  comfort,  a fair  share  in  the  recreations, 
church  support  and  other  activities  of  the  com- 
munity, provision  through  insurance  for  death, 
injury  and  sickness,  and  a competence  for  old 
age.  Less  than  this  cannot  be  considered  a 
living  wage  in  America. 

7.  That  the  Federal  and  State  Bureaus  of 
Labor  be  urged  further  to  investigate  and  re- 
port upon  the  extent  of  continuous  industries 
in  this  country  and  their  working  hours.  We 
commend  the  Bethlehem  Report  for  its  incisive 
array  of  facts.  Such  reports  should  show  us 
not  only  the  extent  to  which  the  steel  industry 
elsewhere  is  carried  on  along  similar  lines,  but 
the  practice  in  other  trades  and  in  public  ser- 
vice corporations.  Massachusetts,  as  well  as 
New  York  State,  has  investigated  the  extent 
of  Sunday  work  within  its  boundaries. 

8.  It  is  essential  that  there  be  some  method 


18 


whereby  employees  may  approach  their  em- 
ployers with  their  grievances  without  preju- 
dice against  those  selected  to  represent  them. 
The  Committee  would  raise  the  question  of 
the  recognitiort  of  the  right  of  all  workmen  to 
organize  in  such  a manner  as  may  seem  best 
to  them,  provided  that  they  keep  within  the 
limits  of  the  law;  and  we  recommend  that  em- 
ployers of  labor  recognize  such  organizations 
when  they  speak  in  behalf  of  their  members. 

9.  The  Committee  reaffirms,  in  the  name  of 
the  Commission  on  the  Church  and  Social  Ser- 
vice, the  three  principles  for  which  the  Federal 
Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America 
asserts  the  Church  must  stand: 

First.  The  gradual  and  reasonable  reduc- 
tion of  the  hours  of  labor  to  the  lowest  prac- 
ticable point,  and  that  degree  of  leisure  for  all 
which  is  a condition  of  the  highest  human  life. 

Second.  A release  from  employment  one  day 
in  seven. 

Third.  A living  wage  as  a minimum  in  every 
industry,  and  the  highest  wage  that  each  in- 
dustry can  afford. 

SUGGESTIONS  MADE  BY  THE  COM- 
MITTEE TO  THE  MINISTERS  IN 
BETHLEHEM. 

1.  That  they  collectively  'take  a definite  and 
pronounced  stand  against  7-day  labor,  so  that 
the  working  people  of  the  Bethlehems  may 
know  without  question  how  they  stand.  If  the 
present  Ministerial  Association,  for  constitu- 
tional limitations,  cannot  declare  on  such  is- 
sues, it  would  seem  that  collective  action  could 
still  be  taken  by  those  ministers  so  inclined 
through  a committee  or  through  a special  meet- 
ing for  this  purpose. 

2.  In  view  of  the  statement  made  in  the 
ministers’  letter,  that  workmen  have  abused 
their  holidays  and  Sundays  by  drunkenness, 
ball  games,  and  the  like,  we  recommend  that 
the  ministers  appoint  a committee  to  investi- 

19 


gate  what  opportunities  for  dean  recreation 
are  open  to  the  working  people  of  the  Beth- 
lehems;  what  opportunities  a 6-day,  12-hour 
man  has  for  enjoying  any  outdoor  amusements 
except  on  Sunday;  what  opportunities  the  7- 
day,  12-hour  man  has  at  any  time  for  enjoying 
them;  what  the  mechanics  and  others  who 
have  Saturday  half  holiday  do  with  it;  what 
public  provision  there  is  for  adult  recreation 
in  Bethlehem  other  than  that  on  a commercial 
basis — that  is,  enterprises  depending  on  the 
admission  tickets,  foods  and  drinks  sold,  in 
contrast  to,  for  instance,  the  public  recreation 
centers  which  serve  many  of  the  low-rent  dis- 
tricts of  Chicago. 

3.  That  they  organize  an  open  forum  for 
discussion,  securing  the  co-operation  of  the 
Catholic  priests,  at  which  workmen  and  mer- 
chants, non-churchmen  and  ministers  could 
discuss  industrial  conditions  and  civic  prob- 
lems openly  and  without  fear;  so  that  there 
will  not  be  the  mistrust  and  misunderstanding 
which  characterized  this  strike  between  tbe 
strikers  and  the  ethical  forces  of  the  com- 
munity. 

4.  We  would  suggest  that  the  Ministerial 
Association  give  over  at  least  four  meetings 
a year  to  a discussion  of  the  Church’s  respon- 
sibility toward  labor  conditions  in  the  Beth- 
lehems.  We  were  gratified  at  the  specific  and 
democratic  testimony  which  was  offered  at  the 
meeting  we  attended.  For  instance,  when  one 
of  the  general  officers  of  the  company  was 
quoted  as  saying  that  Sunday  work  had  been 
entirely  optional  with  the  men,  there  were  min- 
isters present  who  testified  that  reliable  church 
members,  church  officers  and  others  had  been 
obliged  to  work,  whether  they  wanted  to  or  not. 

5.  That,  inasmuch  as  the  Bethlehem  Steel 
Company  has  assured  the  ministers  of  Bethle- 
hem that  Sunday  work  will  be  cut  down  to 
what  is  inevitable  and  necessary,  the  ministers 
conceive  of  themselves  as  the  Sunday  guard- 

20 


ians  of  the  community,  and,  taking  the  com- 
pany’s statement  in  good  faith,  request  a 
weekly  report  as  to  the  number  of  men  em- 
ployed on  Sunday  in  each  department.  This 
suggestion  is  not  offered  in  a spirit  of  espion- 
age, but  in  a realization  that  in  a large  plant 
such  as  the  Bethlehem  works,  where  contracts 
must  be  turned  out  rapidly,  where  foremen 
and  superintendents  are  rated  on  their  output, 
the  pressure  is  inevitably  in  the  direction  of 
overtime  and  extra  work.  Such  a weekly  re- 
port, published  in  the  local  paper  or  read  in 
the  churches,  would  automatically  exert  some 
pressure  in  the  opposite  direction. 

6.  That  the  Bethlehem  Ministerial  Associa- 
tion appoint  a committee  on  industrial  acci- 
dents to  make  inquiries  as  to  the  exact  pay- 
ments made  during  a given  year  to  the  fami- 
lies of  workmen  killed  or  disabled  at  work. 
The  Bethlehem  Steel  Company  has  a relief 
association  which  provides  weekly  benefits  in 
case  of  injury  and  funeral  benefits  in  case  of 
death;  and  in  this  the  men  co-operate.  But 
it  were  well  to  go  beyond  this  and  find  out 
the  exact  payments  in  case  of  death  to  take 
the  place  of  the  loss  of  income,  so  that  when 
the  question  of  amending  the  present  em- 
ployers’ liability  laws  comes  up  at  the  next 
session  of  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  the 
Bethlehem  community  as  a whole  will  be  awake 
and  informed  and  a center  of  influence  touch- 
ing this  problem,  which  has  been  engrossing 
the  attention  of  state  commissions  in  Minne- 
sota, Wisconsin,  New  York,  Illinois,  Massa- 
chusetts and  New  Jersey.  The  recent  action 
of  the  American  Manufacturers’  Association 
in  declaring  against  existing  liability  laws  and 
proposing  an  indemnity  system  which  would 
put  American  practice  somewhat  on  a par  with 
that  of  England  or  of  Germany,  shows  the 
moral  obligation  resting  on  a great  industrial 
State  such  as  Pennsylvania  in  getting  abreast 
of  the  world  movement  in  this  field. 


fl 


SUGGESTED  QUESTIONS  WHICH 
MIGHT  BE  DISCUSSED  AT  A MIN- 
ISTERIAL MEETING,  BEAR- 
ING ON  7-DAY  WORK. 

a.  What  is  the  law  in  this  State  with  re- 
spect to  Sunday  observance? 

b.  In  what  industrial  operations  is  it  not 
observed  ? 

c.  Do  the  men  in  these  operations  have  to 
work  seven  days  a week,  or  do  they  get  one 
day  oflf? 

d.  If  it  is  stated  that  it  is  optional  whether 
they  work  Sunday  or  not,  are  we  sure  that  in 
practice  it  works  out  that  way?  If  a fore- 
man has  to  get  out  a piece  of  work  requiring 
50  men  on  Sunday  and  only  30  volunteer,  what 
happens  ? 

e.  What  is  the  effect  of  Sunday  work  on 
church  attendance? 

f.  What  sort  of  fathers  can  the  men  be  who 
work  seven  days  a week;  when  do  they  get  a 
chance  to  be  with  their  children?  Do  you  con- 
sider it  important,  as  a churchman,  that  a 
father  should  have  time  to  spend  with  his 
children? 

g.  What  sort  of  a householder  can  such  a 
man  be?  What  sort  of  a church  member? 
What  sort  of  a citizen? 

h.  Is  a 7-day  week  a more  exacting, 
strength-consuming,  soul-shrivelling  program 
than  a 12-hour  day? 

i.  What  sort  of  recreational  opportunities 
have  men  who  work  12  hours  a day? 

j.  What  free  time  for  refreshment  and  re- 
laxation have  they  besides  Sunday? 

k.  What  do  the  men  who  have  Saturday  half 
holiday  do  with  it?  Has  it  any  effect  on  their 
Sunday  church  attendance? 

l.  Have  any  steps  been  taken  in  your  State 
to  provide  for  one  day  of  rest  out  of  every 
seven  in  those  industries  where  Sunday  work 

St 


is  nesessary?  (Massachusetts  and  California 
are  the  only  two  States  that  have  passed  such 
laws.) 

m.  Is  it  the  Church’s  part  to  support  such 
6-day  legislation? 

m.  In  continuous  industries  24  hours  must 
be  split  up  between  two  shifts  of  workers,  or 
three.  It  is  a choice  between  12  hours  or  8. 
Is  the  issue  clear-cut  enough  so  that  the 
Church  can  favor  legislation  requiring  three 
shifts  of  8 hours  each  in  continuous  indus- 
tries? 

o.  Is  overtime  paid  in  your  locality  for  extra 
work  after  hours  or  on  Sunday? 

p.  What  would  be  the  eifect  if  time  and  a 
half  or  double  time  were  paid  for  such  over- 
time? Would  men  prefer  to  work  Sunday  and 
lay  off  some  other  day?  Or  would  such  a 
tendency  be  rendered  negligible  by  the  man- 
agement transferring  all  such  work  to  week 
days,  wherever  possible,  in  order  to  save  the 
extra  pay  expense? 

q.  What  sort  of  activities  are  commonly  pro- 
ceeded against  under  your  Sunday  laws?  Sa- 
loons? Ball  games?  Candy  shops?  Manufac- 
turing plants? 

r.  Aside  from  such  repressive  measures, 
what  is  your  community  doing  concerning  en- 
tertainment, outdoor  recreation  and  relaxation 
that  a workman  may  secure  in  his  leisure  hours? 
Is  this  provision  left  entirely  to  those  who 
make  money  out  of  this  natural  desire  for 
such  things?  Is  it  less  important  for  the  com- 
munity to  provide  recreation  centers  than  it 
is  to  provide  a fire  department  or  a jail? 

The  Committee  was  greatly  assisted  in  its 
investigation  and  in  the  preparation  of  its  re- 
port by  Mr.  John  A.  Fitch  of  the  New  York 
State  Department  of  Labor. 

( CHARLES  STELZLE. 

Committee  \ JOSIAH  STRONG. 

( PAUL  U.  KELLOGG. 

a 


Commisisfton  on  fte  Cf)urct) 
anb  Social  ^erbite 

OF  THE 

jfcbcral  Council  of  tl)c  Cfjurcibcsi 
of  Cfjrist  in  America 


NATIONAL  OFFICE 

612  United  Charities  Building,  105  East  22d  St.,  New  York 


REV.  JOSIAH  STRONG,  Chairman 
REV.  CHARLES  S.  MACFARLAND,  Secretary 


SECRETARIAL  COUNCIL 

Rev.  Henry  A.  Atkinson 
14  Beacon  Street,  Boston,  Mass. 

Rev.  Samuel  Z.  Batten 
1701  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Rev.  Frank  M.  Crouch 
281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York 

Rev.  Charles  O.  Gill 
Hartland,  Vt. 

Rev.  Harry  F.  Ward 
2512  Park  Place,  Evanston,  Illinois 


No.  5 


